News Muse

Musings from the editors of DisciplesWorld magazine on news, religion and whatever else we feel like writing about.

October 03, 2006

Jim Wallis connects the dots on abortion issue

Usually, when abortion is discussed in political and religious circles, it is done as if there is no context. More accurately, it's in a false context: "life". No one is anti-life; and all sides know this. Yet we persist in allowing the abortion issue to be debated within this framework. Why can't we talk about ways to make it more viable for more women to have a child and be able to afford to raise the child?

If anyone can reframe the abortion conversation, it's Jim Wallis. Here, on his "God's Politics" blog, Wallis shares the story of a low-income mother who met him at one of his book signing events.

Of course, we will still have stories like this one, about the 10 year old girl in Puerto Rico who was raped by her stepfather and finds herself pregnant. I would argue that in cases like this, we still need safe, legal abortion as an option. Still, that doesn't mean that the 10 year old won't suffer emotional or physical problems if it is decided that the pregnancy can be terminated. There are so many other ways the church can be in ministry in situations like this, besides the roles it typically plays right now - excoriating abortion completely, or just ignoring the no-win situation for women (and unfortunately, girls) while defending the "right" to choose.